At work we're doing an audit of the collections, in advance of the opening of a new store facility. I have spent the last few days going through our coin collection and it has been fascinating from an Agema point of view. I have handled

Coins from late 17th/early 18th Century German states (including Brunswick-Luneburg!)Coins from Japan, from 8th-19th Century (during which I demonstrated my level of fluency of Japanese is on a Goons Show level)Coins from British 19th Century colonies (I could feel Flashman at my shoulder)Coins from Europe, from 16th-19th CenturyCoins from 18th Century Ottoman Empire...no blood stains on any of them (sorry Stuart)Coins from Napoleonic puppet states

It helped add to my understanding of the period of the games. Paying for something in Thalers in game is abstract but to hold one, from the time period of Glory, gave me more an understanding of what they meant...and seeing the size of some of them, next time I raise a battalion or build a warship, I'll be able to picture the amount of physical case involved

But from the 1570's onwards only one coin stands head and shoulders above all others........the "Peso de ocho reales." Better known as the Spanish piece of eight or Spanish Dollars.

Interestingly when looking at the C18 China tea trade etc we see prices in $ - For Spanish Dollar's.

In many ways the minting of huge numbers of Spanish pieces of eight and their almost universal acceptance around the world provided the liquidity and means of exchange needed for the development of modern trade. But oddly this huge increase in money supply seems to have done Spain as much harm as good due to inflation and a Government funded by new world silver had little incentive to foster Spanish Trade and Industry which lost ground to England, UDP and France in many area's.

The other big lossers as a result of the world wide inflation generated by South American Silver were traditional societies like Ming China, The Moghuls and the Ottomans.